Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Heritage-listed homeless shelter gets $12m facelift, bigger rooms, private bathrooms
Anna Patty The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The $12 million refurbishment of Wesley Mission’s 174-year-old heritage-listed Wesley crisis accommodation centre has doubled the size of rooms which now come with an ensuite and personal storage to provide a more private retreat. ... Wesley Mission chief executive officer and superintendent Reverend Stu Cameron said the facelift had been designed by architects Scott Carverto to inspire hope and dignity in residents who seek refuge in emergency accommodation.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/heritage-listed-homeless-she…
# NSW, Homelessness.COVID-19 vaccines are low in areas where eviction rates are high, report finds
Ayelet Sheffey (No paywall)The eviction moratorium from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to expire at the end of June, but courts have begun overruling the ban, putting tenants at risk of eviction. New data suggests that lifting the moratorium will not only increase evictions, but also increase the spread of COVID-19. (Business Insider Australia)
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/eviction-rates-high-in-low-co…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.National vacancy rates plummet, residents return to Melbourne and Sydney CBDs
Rachel Wells Domain (No paywall)he total number of rental properties sitting empty across Australia has plunged to just 1.8 per cent in May, a level not seen since October 2012, new research reveals. ... The May figures also reveal that vacancy rates in the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs, which soared last year during COVID-related lockdowns, have also fallen substantially.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/national-vacancy-rates-plummet-re…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Social housing advocates label Queensland's 2021 budget spending a 'band aid' that won't solve crisis
Rachel Riga and Emilie Gramenz ABC (No paywall)The Queensland government's multi-billion-dollar state budget spend on housing and health has been met been with mixed reactions, as stakeholders say more is needed to properly address issues.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-16/queensland-budget-2021-at…
# Australia, Public and community housing, State Government.Tiny houses are one way young people can afford real estate, but experts say scrapping stamp duty would help more
Stephanie Chalmers ABC (No paywall)Jonty Dalton and Lucy Smith are about to achieve the Australian home ownership dream, but on a smaller scale. Rather than wait for house prices to go down or new government support to be announced, the Hobart couple have found a different solution: a tiny house. ... Housing affordability, which has been a long-running issue … is again back as a really serious problem that young people face," Curtin University professor Rachel Ong ViforJ said. ... The deposit schemes and stamp duty concessions may make it easier for some would-be buyers to save the required amount to enter the market. However, they also add to the demand for housing and therefore contribute to higher prices, as more people try to jump into the market sooner. Professor Ong ViforJ says additional reform is needed, to reduce tax incentives for housing investors. "Many of them already own a family home, but they're seeking that attractive investment by purchasing the second or the third property," she said. That's not politically popular, however. "They're painful solutions … we do need political leadership and willingness amongst our policymakers to execute them," Professor Ong ViforJ said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-15/experts-say-govt-housing-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Tax.RBA lets it rip: are Australia’s home loan rates finally going to rise?
Michael West (No paywall)Two big things are happening in the bond market. One, the government is actually borrowing at a profit. Two, there appears to be a quiet plan by the RBA to let bond rates rise and take the heat out of housing. (Michael West Media)
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/rba-lets-it-rip-are-australias-ho…
# Australia, Housing market.Australian apartment pipeline set to fall, raising worries about rental shortage when borders open: Knight Frank
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)The number of new apartments being built is set to plunge, new research finds, raising the prospect of rental shortages in future years once international immigration to Australia resumes.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-apartment-pipeline-set…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.‘With COVID we have a plan’: Housing back at top of Sydney’s worry list
Matt Wade and Sean Naden The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Housing costs have drawn level with health as the biggest worry for people in NSW as soaring property prices stoke fears about affordability. The Ipsos Issues Monitor, which asks a representative sample of NSW adults to identify the three most important issues facing the state, shows housing now ranks the equal top concern alongside health.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/with-covid-we-have-a…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing affordability, Housing market.